Convertible lounge and bed and the like



April 7, 1959 GOLDSTEIN 2,880,426

CONVERTIBLE LOUNGE AND BED AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1957 sSheets-Sheet 1 Q I Fig.

lnven/or Leon Goldsfein y Attorneys April 7, 1952 GOLDSTEIN 2,880,426

CONVERTIBLE LOUNGE AND BED AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1957 sSheets-Sheet 2 23) Fig. 3.

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Inventor L eon Go/dsfein Attorneys A ril 7, 1959 GOLDSTEIN 2,880,426

CONVERTIBLE LOUNGE AND BED AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 19, 1957 In venforLeon Ga/dsfe/n ymwm Altar/rays CONVERTIBLE LOUNGE AND BED AND THE LIKELeon Goldstein, Brookline, Mass.

Application February 19, 1957, Serial No. 641,202

Claims. (Cl. 5-37 The present invention relates to convertible furnitureand, more particularly, to convertible lounges and beds and the like.

Many proposals have been offered throughout the years for renderingarticles of furniture adaptable to serve multiple functions. .One of theoldest and most useful proposals of this character has been theadaptation of a lounge or couch to serve, also, as a bed; and viceversa. While many such devices have been used over the years, they haveinvariably been subject to certain disadvantages which, indeed, haveheretofore been considered inherent in articles of this character. Amongthose disadvantages is the fact that the lounge or couch must usually beremoved from the wall of the room along which it is placed. in order toefiect the conversion from the lounge or couch to a bed; or, toreconvert the bed into a lounge or couch. Other disadvantages includethe lack of easily accessible space in such an article of furniture ofstoring bed linens, pillows or any other items that it may be desirableto store. Many of the prior-art proposals, moreover, while providing asatisfactory lounge or couch, have not provided a flat comfortablebedding surface because of the nature of the conversion constructioninherent in those devices.

An object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide a new andimproved convertible article of furniture that shall not be subject tothe above-described difficulties, but that, to the contrary, providesfor easy conversion without moving the furniture, provides easilyaccessible storage space, and provides equally comfortable lounging andsleeping facilities.

A further object is to provide a new and improved convertible lounge andbed and the like.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter and will be moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In summary, the invention resides, from one aspect, in a convertiblelounge andbed provided with a substantially horizontal supportingsurface serving as the seating surface of the lounge. A loungeback-support surface is provided, movably connected to the seatingsurface, and comprising movably connected lower and upper portions.There is also provided means for rigidly maintaining the back-supportsurface at an incline to provide a lounging area between the seating andback-support surfaces, and means comprising the upper portion of theback surface when moved with respect to the lower portion thereof forsupporting the lower portion of the back-supporting surface in asubstantially horizontal position substantially co-planar with theseating surface, thereby providing a co-planar bedding surface.

The invention will now be described in connection with the accompanyingdrawings,

Fig. l of which is a perspective view illustrating the invention in itsform as a lounge;

.a bed;

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Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken upon the line 33 of Fig. 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a similar view taken upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but taken from the rear, with theparts shown open to illustrate details of construction; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section, upon an enlarged scale, taken upon theline 6-6 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

While the invention will hereinafter be described in connection with itspreferred application to a convertible lounge and bed, it will beevident that the features of novelty may also be applied to other typesof similar furniture. The convertible lounge and bed is shown embodyinga frame, preferably of substantially rectangular contour, having a frontwall 1, side walls 3 and a rear wall 5. The frame maybe of woodenconstruction provided with a plastic veneer, such as that sold under thetrademark Formica and the like, for purposes of decoration and wear.Other materials may, of course, also be used. Disposed within theforward portion of the frame, near the upper edge thereof, as moreparticularly shown in Fig. 3, is a substantially planar supportingsurface 7 serving as the seating surface of the lounge. The seatingsurface 7 may constitute merely a slab of plywood or the like supportedalong its forward edge within a groove 9 in the upper inner marginalregion of the front wall 1 of the frame. Along its inner edge, theseating surface 7 may be supported upon a vertical wooden wall panel 11intermediate the frame. The seating surface 7 is thus rigidly fixed inplace.

A back-support surface for the lounge is provided by a preferablytwo-portion support comprising upper and lower portions 15 and 13,respectively. The lower edge of the front surface of the lower portion13 is shown hinged at 17 to the inner edge of the seating surface 7, andthe upper and lower portions 15 and 13 are themselves shown hinged alongtheir rear surfaces at 19. While hinged constructions are preferred, itis to be understood that other types of connections which permit meansof the bracket support 21. v

the members 13 and 15 comprising the back-support of relative movementof the parts may also be employed; The upper portion 15 is preferably ofsubstantially L- shape, being provided with a rearwardly extendingtopsurface leg 23 which is rigidly secured thereto as by surface in theinclined position illustrated in Fig. 1, providing the preferredobtuse-angle lounging area between the seating support 7 and theback-surface supports 13',

. 15, side supports 25 are provided that are pivotable between theintermediate wall 11, as at 27, and the rear frame wall 5, as at 29. Theside supports 25 may assume either the vertical or upright supportingposition illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5, or the substantially hori--zontal position inward of the rear portion of the frame,

as shown in Fig. 4 and to the right in Fig. 5. At their 'upper ends, theside supports 25 are shown provided with recessed flanges 37 which mayreceive the transverse edges of the top-surface leg 23 of the upperback-support, surface portion 15, thus rigidly to maintain the back.

illustrated to the left in Fig. 5.

When it is desired to convert the lounge into a bed,

the side supports 25 may be pivoted downward to assume thebefore-mentioned substantially horizontal position illustrated in Fig. 4and to the right in Fig. '5.

p In View of the before-mentioned thicker dimensions'i off the upperportions of the side supports =25, the back In order to support The sidesupports 25 are preferably provided wall 5 of the frame is preferablyprovided with recessed members 31 for receiving and limiting theposition of downward movement of the side supports 25 in order toprovide a level substantially horizontal position of storage for theside supports. When, accordingly, the upper back-support portion ismoved rearwardly about the hinge 19, the top-surface leg 23 of the upperportion 15 may be moved downward to rest upon the substantiallyhorizontally positioned side supports 25 within the rear portion of theframe. The leg 23 will then be maintained substantially parallel to thethen horizontal rear surface of the lower portion 13 of the backsupport, the free end or edge of the top-surface leg 23 being limited bystops 33 provided upon the rear surface of the intermediate wall 11 ofthe frame. The upper portion 15, 23 will thus serve as a rigidsupporting surface for maintaining the lower portion 13 of the backsupport in the substantially horizontal position, with the hinge 17fully open, Fig. 4, thus to provide a substantially co-planar smoothsleeping surface comprising the members 7 and 13.

By placing appropriate two-piece cushions 7 and 13' upon the members 7and 13, comfortable bedding facilities are provided. The cushions may,for example, be of foam rubber, as shown in Fig. 6, or they may be ofmattress or other desired material. In all cases, however, they willrest upon a rigid substantially co-planar bedding surface 7, 13,providing the comfort of a fiat continuous sleeping surface having nodiscontinuities. The two-piece cushions 7', 13 are provided with a hinge17', shown in Fig. 3 as disposed at substantially the location of thehinge 17 between the surfaces 7 and 13. The cushion hinge 17' ispreferably of the construction illustrated in Fig. 6 embodying a tape ortapes 17 connected between the upper edge of the cushion part 13 and thelower edge of the adjacent cushion part 7'. This type of bingeconnection provides a highly efi'lcient universallyhinged cushion,particularly adapted for the purposes of the present invention. thewidth of the cushion 13', Fig. 4, is sufficient to extend together withthe cushion 7' over the complete bedding surface 7, 13. When hinged ormoved to the lounge position of Fig. 3, however, a space isautomatically left between the cushions 7' and 13' at the hinge region17' that permits the cushion 13' to extend upward and cover also theupper portion 15 of the back support surface 13, 15.

In accordance with the present invention, apertures or equivalent handledevices 35 are provided in the lower portion 13 of the back-supportsurface. By merely removing or moving forward the cushion 13' of Fig. 3,one can thus obtain direct access to the aperture 35 from the front ofthe furniture. By drawing the member 13 forward, as shown in Fig. 5,gravity will effect the downwardehinged movement of the upper portion15, 23 of the back-support surface. Upon pushing the .side members 25inward and releasing the support 13, the conversion to a bed iseffected, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. By similar token,reconversion to the lounge position may easily be effected merely byelevating the cushion part 13 from the front, grasping the apertures 35in the supporting surface 13, and elevating it to the position shown inFig. 5. By then elevating the side supports 25, the lounge of Fig. 1 isre-assembled. All of these operations, moreover, may be performed fromthe front or side of the article of furniture and without thenecessityfor moving the furniture, as is customary with the present-day articlesof this class.

vIn addition, the present invention provides the further advantageousfeature that its construction permits of utilization of the space belowthesurface 7 between the front wall 1 and the intermediate wall 11 fordrawers 39 which may store any desired articles. The drawer 39 may, ifdesired, be coveredby a hinged cover-41 for the It will, of course, beclear that.

purposes of protecting the contents thereof, as more particularlyillustrated in Fig. 1.

Further modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and allsuch are considered to fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention, as described in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lounge convertible into a bed having, in combination, asubstantially horizontal supporting surface serving as the seatingsurface of the lounge, a lounge back-support surface movably connectednear its lower edge to the inner edge of the seating surface, thebacksupport surface comprising movably connected lower and upperportions the latter of which terminates in a rearwardly extending topsurface, side supports disposed near the back of and connected with thelounge and adapted to assume an upright position rearward of theback-support surface or a substantially horizontal position inward ofthe rear portion of the lounge, the side supports being provided withmeans for engaging the said top surface when in their said uprightposition in order rigidly to maintain the back-support surface at anincline to provide a lounging area between the seating and back-supportsurfaces, the upper portion of the backsupport surface being movablerearwardly to a position where the top surface thereof extendssubstantially parallel to the rear surface of the lower portion of theback-support surface in order that, when the said side supports are intheir said substantially horizontal position, the said top surface mayrest thereupon, thereby to support the lower portion of theback-supporting surface in a substantially horizontal positionsubstantially co-planar with the seating surface providing a co-planarbedding surface.

2. A lounge convertible into a bed having, in com bination, asubstantially horizontal supporting surface serving as the seatingsurface of the lounge, a lounge back-support surface hingedly connectednear its lower edge to the inner edge of the seating surface, thebacksupport surface comprising hingedly connected lower and upperportions the latter of which is of substantially L-Shape with a leg ofthe L extending rearwardly, side supports disposed near the back of andconnected with the lounge and adapted to assume an upright positionrearward of the back-support surface or a substantially horizontalposition inward of the rear portion of the lounge, the side supportsbeing provided with means for engaging the said leg of the L when intheir said upright position in order rigidly to maintain the backsupportsurface at an incline to provide a lounging area between. the seatingand back-support surfaces, the upper portion of the back-support surfacebeing hingedly movable rearwardly to a position where the said leg ofthe L thereof extends substantially parallel to the rear surface of thelower portion of the back-support surface inorder that, when the saidside supports are in their said substantially horizontal position, thesaid leg of the L may rest thereupon, thereby to support the lowerportion of the back-supporting surface in a substantially horizontalposition substantially co-planar with the seating surface, providing aco-planar bedding surface.

3. A lounge convertible into a bed having, in combination, a frame, asubstantially horizontal supporting surface serving as the seatingsurface of the lounge, and

disposed in the front portion of the frame, a lounge back-supportsurface hingedly connected near its lower edge to the inner edge of theseating surface, the backsupport surface comprising hingedly connectedlower and upper portions the latter of which terminates in a rearwardlyextending top surface, pivotal side supports dis' posed near. the backportion of and connected withthe .frame and adapted to assume an uprightposition-rean- Ward of the back-support surface-or a substantiallyhorizontal position inward of the rear portion of the lounge and limitedby the rear wall of the frame, the side supports being provided withflanges for engaging the said top surface when in their said uprightposition in order rigidly to maintain the back-support surface at anincline to provide an obtuse angular lounging area between the seatingand back-support surfaces, the upper portion of the back-support surfacebeing hingedly movable rearwardly to a position where the top surfacethereof extends substantially parallel to the rear surface of the lowerportion of the back-support surface in order that, when the said sidesupports are in their said substantially horizontal position, the saidtop surface may rest thereupon, thereby to support the lower portion ofthe backsupporting surface in a substantially horizontal positionsubstantially co-planar with the seating surface, providing a co-planarbedding surface.

4. A'lounge convertible into a bed having, in combination,.a frame, asubstantially horizontal supporting surface serving as the seatingsurface of the lounge and disposed in the front portion of the frame,a'lounge back-support surface hingedly connected near its lower edge tothe inner edge of the seating surface, the backsupport surfacecomprising hingedly connected lower and upper portions the latter ofwhich terminates in a rearwardly extending top surface, pivotal sidesupports disposed near the back portion of and conencted with the frameand adapted to assume an upright position rearward of the back-supportsurface or a substantially horizontal position inward of the rearportion of the lounge, the side supports being provided with means forengaging the said top surface when in their said upright position inorder rigidly to maintain the back-support surface at an incline toprovide an obtuse angular lounging area between the seating andback-support surfaces, the

upper portion of the back-support surface being hingedly movablerearwardly to a position where the top surface thereof extendssubstantially parallel to the rear surface of the lower portion of theback-support surface in order tha, when the said side supports are intheir said substantially horizontal position, the said top surface mayrest thereupon, thereby to support the lower portion of theback-supporting surface in a substantially horizontal positionsubstantially co-planar with the seating surface, providing a co-planarbedding surface, an intermediate wall within the frame supporting thehinged region between the seating and back-support surfaces, and drawerspace provided from the front of the frame below the seating surfacewithin the space forward of the said intermediate wall.

5. A lounge convertible into a bed as claimed in claim 4 and in whichlimiting means is provided upon the rear surface of the saidintermediate wall to limit the forward position of the free end of thesaid top surface resting upon the said horizontally positioned sidesupports.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

